Expected gcse results in year 7..

[Foxton20]

Hi,

My daughter (12) struggles abit with school. Nothing major but mostly maths. I have dyslexia and although she struggles with maths I wouldn’t say she has it. She’s currently doing morning classes to catch up on her basic skills.

She’s been very secretive with her bag. Practically rugby tackling me if I go near it. She went to a sleepover this evening and I found hidden in a back pocket her expected results.

They currently stand at mostly 4/5s. Roughly c’s on most subjects.

I worry she won’t be able to do what she wants to do. Do I push for a private tutor? 😩 Iv read that she might not even get to do a levels?!

If this was ds, I'd tell him the school sent a text home telling parents that their child had been issued a report with their expected grades and does she have it.

Then have a chat about it. Tell her not to worry, it is something she can definitely change if she wants to and you are there to encourage her - apply herself in/out of school, pay attention and contribute in class, do homework to the best of ability and pay attention to where she loses marks to improve next time. Work consistently over the next few years and those grades will increase. If she has specific subjects she thinks she still struggles with you are there to support her.

My daughter has had the same thing and was really disappointed, poor chick. For various reasons, I genuinely don't think that for the most part she'll receive those grades in the end.

Oue school put grades for effort too. Does your school do that? My dd's ones were amazing, so I emphasised that and told her (as a teacher myself) that effort will make as much difference as anything and that I was very proud every single teacher thought her efforts were excellent or very good. Would that work in your case?

Im sure she will be able to work with children if that is her aim.

To be a NN is a great focus but I guessing they dont take many so grades are only one part of the requirements. For her to know she can still do the work even if she isnt a NN is good.

Norland?! Better get saving OP!

for anyone interested: Norland needs 5 GCSEs incl English & maths and 96 UCAS points which is equivalent to CCC at A level or MMM at Extended BTEC Diploma.

Yeah, I had fits when I found out how much it will cost! Luckily her dad has been saving

I’m so proud of her.

At the school where I worked, the GCSE predictions in year 7 and 8 were almost entirely based on how they had done in their SATs. I.e. the ones who had above average SATs scores were targeted 7-8, those with average scores were targeted 5-6 and those with below average were targeted 4-5. This wasn't really a reflection of how they were doing in school and I dont think the teachers can really make meaningful predictions after only 1 term of secondary school, so I wouldn't be panicking yet!

I've never understood how they can expect to predict GCSE results 4 years before they're taken! My DD (now 36,so the gradng would have been different back in 1998) was predicted all Cs and Ds when she was in year 8. She went on to achieve 7 Bs,2 As and 2 Cs. She also did A levels,and got 2 As and one B.

Hi, I'm actually in Year 11 and I know this is supposed to be for parents but I just had to reply to this.

Being a grade 4/5 in year 7 is actually very good. I remember I was a grade 4/5 in Year 8 when the number system was first introduced. Fortunately, Maths was and has been my strongest subject so I was a 6 in Year 8, but it hasn't been for my younger brother.

It is unlikely that your daughter will need a tutor unless you feel that shes doing terribly, which from her grades, I dont think she is. I have been gifted and talented in maths since Year 4, hence my grade 6. Your daughter will be able to learn from her maths lessons and any practice she does at home will be enough learning for her I'm sure!

So please dont stress out, your daughter is on track!

Take care and I hope things go well!

Also, being given predicted grades in year 7 is really wrong in my opinion. They completely change once you get to year 10 anyways!

I think you may have mistaken those grades for predicted when they probably may be target grades!

I was pretty similar to your daughter at her age and right now my targets are all 8s except for English (which are 7s). So don't stress!

Hello,

As a teacher target grades can place a lot of pressure or motivate kids depending on their personality. It is important to ensure that she loves school and if you are going to get a tutor the earlier the better, just ensure that he is a good one.

My son is in Y2 he has a tutor but most important is that he really loves his tuition and school. A lot, and I really mean this a lot of students flourish during secondary school, does not matter their target grade, it is the effort they put in - this is why a good school and good tutor is always inportant.

Do not worry too much about that, just ensure that she is happy whatever you do.

Lots of good advice on here op but in addition I would also speak to school about what the predicted grades actually mean.

There are several different ways of working them out and this can affect what they are actually telling you.

Poor kid why are you worrying in year 7 let her find her feet although you say your not a pushy parent does your daughter know that?

Why would she be so secretive about that?

I'd worry there was something else she was hiding
Or be more concerned that she wasn't able to share the results

Based in Ds1's KS2 SATs he should have got a C in English language so being generous a 5 and a B in Maths so a 6.

He sat his GCSEs this summer and got an 8 in English language and a 9 in Maths.

I think schools do the target GCSE grades in year 7 to show you where your child is compared to the average, so 4s and 5s.

Ds1 was average as can be, but had incredible, passionate teachers who inspired him, motivated him and gave him self belief and he exceeded all expectations. He won an award at school along with 7 other pupils for their outstanding GCSE grades. So don't take it too seriously at this stage.

4 and 5s are fine. She will pass everything, she can go to some sixth forms and do A levels with 5's. She can go to college, she could get an apprenticeship, she can get a job.

She is in year 7, just tell her you are proud and have a nice Christmas.

Hello,
I'm an A-Level student and I couldn't help but feel a bit uncomfortable reading this.
Year 7 students are graded slightly differently than GCSE students, and personally, from my experience and others, it's not wise to base a young child's final grades from them.
In my opinion it is best to encourage your child to do well, but don't scare them into believing they're on the path to fail. These grades can drastically change, I know that well.
I was predicted a 5 in maths when I started GCSE and came out with a 7 because I put a lot of effort into my studies.
I hope this gives you some insight, because it worries me that too much pressure is being placed onto children at a younger age nowadays.

Thanks for reading.

I'm a Maths teacher and I despair at the state of education. You know your daughter best, carry on encouraging her to be the best she can be. No one can dictate or predict what she is capable of. I once taught a girl whose target, given in Y7, was grade D; she got a B. It is wrong of teachers to try and predict grades and unfortunately, there are not enough of us fighting that kind of thing (some school policies are not always helpful, neither is the prevalent and unhealthy fear of Ofsted).
I don't think she needs a tutor, I am aware that secondary school at times push up the ladder without firm foundations. Your daughter needs to be patient with herself, stronger foundations will help her better than tonnes of content at this moment.
A friend told of how his child spent the first 2 years of high school on core number skills; she wanted to move schools as she felt she was behind friends who went to other schools (and were doing more advanced material). When it came to Y9, 10 & 11, she surpassed those same friends.
Just like success in English Language stems from a love of reading and creative thinking, success in Maths is vastly improved through a confident understanding of numbers. If you need more detail on this, any Maths teacher should be able to expand on that (if they can't, just mention BODMAS and elements of Algebra, e.g. substitution, together...). I would say again, hold fire on the tutoring unless you feel it's what would help boost your daughter's confidence.
Also, have a look at this:

www.greatmathsteachingideas.com/2014/01/05/youve-never-seen-the-gcse-maths-curriculum-like-this-before/

My kids are all under five but I have two of my brothers living with me (17 and 12). They both attend a good private school but have only been accepted in since DB 17 did his GCSE’s and DB 12 did his sats.

DB 17 was predicted all fails in year seven in everything. Our parents were worried but they knew he was intelligent and it was probably him adjusting to high school (he is on the ASD spectrum so he takes routine changes quite hard and often takes a while to find his feet). They didn’t worry too much, just offered him help if he needed it. He didn’t ask for any help at all, just adjusted to high school over time and he came out of his GCSE’s with As and A*s in everything.

Year seven and eight tend to be the throw away years if you like, because they don’t really do much towards their actual GCSE courses. I wouldn’t worry yet, if it’s a new environment and she’s struggling then just reassure her that you’re there for her and if she needs help, all she has to do is ask. chances are she’ll improve tons by the next report and she’ll find her feet pretty soon.

Year seven and eight tend to be the throw away years if you like, because they don’t really do much towards their actual GCSE courses.

This is definitely not the case in maths as you learn maths that you will expand on in later years.
And it really shouldn't be the case in other subjects. You might study a period of history (say) that you don't study at GCSE, but the skills you are learning are transferable!

I'm a secondary teacher, and it does seem most schools come up with an estimated grade for gcse based on SATs, CATs and a variety of other things. However these are more for the school to be judged on than anything else, and they do not take into account things like how hard the child will work, the fact some children develop early and some later, how supportive parents are etc. etc. So I really wouldn't be too concerned about them at this stage! If my school is anything to go by, these 'targets' stay the same through their whole time at school regardless of whether they are realistic or not...it's a daft system!

My husband is also a maths tutor, and he said it is definitely true that the earlier you start with tutors the better, BUT it is only worthwhile if your daughter is on board with it and won't find it too stressful etc. So maybe chat to her about it and see. He said year 9 or early year 10 is more than enough time to help boost grades, year 11 can be a bit late for a lot of students.

My DD was never that good at maths, but she got told so many times by a teacher she hated that she'd 'never pass'.
She went and got a 6 when she was only predicted a low 5 at best.
blows raspberry at teacher

I know you might not necessarily be bothered by my reply, however, being a year 11 student (I made this account specifically to reply) our predicted grades are based solely on our SATs results. For most of us, SATs were not our shining moment, and a lot of the lessons your child will take as a GCSE will not have been covered in SATs. All these grades show are what they predict your child will have, based on general statistics. If your child works well in class, does homework etc and improves at a rate of average or higher (as the majority of students do) then she'll be absolutely fine. I wouldn't let yourself, or your daughter, panic about year 11 while she's still in year 7. She has until at least year 10 to start thinking about GCSE results. Again, I am a year 11 student myself, and I also agree it's wrong to give year 7 students their GCSE results.

These are tricky as I have found that actually for a vast majority they are good indicators but there are some subjects where they are totally inaccurate - particularly art and drama where a student can have an aptitude that goes beyond their predictions and conversely they may be great writers and academic but shocking actors. There is no Key Stage 2 SATS that can predict that.